A decade of memories as Ehlers returns to Winnipeg. The Danish winger reflects on his time with the Jets as he now faces his former teammates as an opponent.
Nikolaj Ehlers was a big piece of the Winnipeg Jets, spending his first 10 NHL seasons with the organization.
The 2014 ninth-overall pick scored 225 goals and registered 520 points in 674 games with the Jets.
However, Ehlers decided to depart the city this summer, signing a six-year, $51 million deal to become a Carolina Hurricane and tonight, he returns to Winnipeg for the first time ever as an opposing player.
"It's no secret that it's pretty cool to be back," Ehlers told the media in Winnipeg. "Exciting and definitely one I was looking forward to. But, also getting a little nervous here."
While Ehlers stated that he felt it was just time to move on when he made the decision to leave, the one thing that Ehlers has always wanted to make clear was how much he enjoyed his time in the city.
"I loved it here," Ehlers said. "I loved the guys here, the organization is fantastic, the people around the team, the fans that we had here, it was great. I had 10 fantastic years here and again, it's the place that I lived the longest in my whole life. So it still feels like home."
While the fans received him well, Ehlers was a bit worried about the kind of reception that he'd get.
"I don't know, to be honest. Everybody has their own opinions and feelings. All I can say is that I spent 10 years here and I loved it. So obviously I'm hoping for something and you can guess yourself for what that is. But it's been nice to be back and see the guys and all the people around. It's special."
The one thing Ehlers wasn't worried about though, was the reactions from his former teammates, who the Danish forward had dinner with on Thursday.
"They're gonna be talking and I think it's gonna be pretty funny at times, for sure," Ehlers said. "But again, there's not one guy on that team that I don't like. I know what some of the guys are gonna try to do and it's gonna be more fun than anything."
Ehlers even said that Jets defenseman Neal Pionk texted him a few days earlier to offer him his first fight as a Carolina Hurricane.
It's one thing to talk about and anticipate what the moment will be like, but for Ehlers, I'm sure it was certainly an emotional moment lining up and facing down his old brothers in his old home.
"Everybody's different and everybody's gonna react a little different to games like this and I have no idea how it's going to be for me," Ehlers said Friday morning. "It's still going to be a battle out there for two points, but I think the first few shifts are gonna be just worrying about passing it to the right guy."
"I can relate to it, because I know it's tough," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "This is going to be a tough night for him. It's special, but it's going to be really hard to play against all your buddies that you went to battle with for 10 years. Coming into the rink and going to the visiting locker room, and then lining up against them. That's all hard. I think it's going to be a pretty special moment, I'd expect, but it's going to be hard to play this game, for sure."
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